Mass General Brigham is losing money hand over fist. Here’s what to know.

Mass General Brigham, the state’s largest health care system and private employer, reported a $2.3 billion loss in 2022, a figure that included an operating loss of $432 million for the fiscal year ending Sept. 30.

In a Friday press release, the health care system pointed to rising costs, capacity constraints, labor shortages, and financial market volatility as contributing factors. 

“While the impacts of inflation and labor shortages are widespread, health care providers face unique challenges with little flexibility to quickly adjust to rising costs,” Mass General Brigham said in its release.

And Mass General Brigham isn’t alone: across the country, hospitals and health care systems are experiencing their most difficult financial year since the start of the pandemic, according to the American Hospital Association. 

In Massachusetts, hospitals and systems large and small have faced multimillion dollar operating losses in recent months, The Boston Globe reported. 

“Health care is facing an unrelenting economic crisis that is impacting patients’ ability to access care,” MGB President and CEO Dr. Anne Klibanski said in the release, calling the situation “unprecedented.”

However, Klibanski remained optimistic that the health care system will rise to the occasion. 

“The stress placed on our workforce and our system over the past several years has been enormous, and the employees at Mass General Brigham continue to show strength and resiliency,” she said.

How does it compare to 2021?

MGB said it generated a total operating revenue of $16.7 billion in 2022, with higher inpatient acuity and longer stays curtailing revenue growth while staffing shortages suppressed capacity.

Operating expenses, meanwhile, came in at $17.1 billion — $1.6 billion more than last year. Increases in wages, employee benefit costs, and clinical supplies were partly to blame, according to the release. 

Mass General Brigham’s latest financial report paints a vastly different picture from 2021, when the health care system reported $442 million in operating income. (More than half of those funds came through the Coronavirus Aid Relief and Economic Security Act and the Affordable Care Act, the release noted.) 

All told, the system reported an overall gain of $3.2 billion last year. 

What are they doing about it? 

Heading into 2023, Mass General Brigham is employing strategies and tactics to address capacity challenges and pressure from inflation on labor and supply costs, MGB Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer Niyum Gandhi said in the release. 

“We have also prioritized engaging with Mass General Brigham’s leaders who are closest to the programs and services delivering care across the system to identify the most thoughtful and targeted approach to reducing costs,” Gandhi said.

So far, according to the release, plans include expanding home-based care and telehealth services; supporting programs to decrease the financial strain from relying on temporary staffing; and identifying ways to reduce non-labor expenses and lower costs without impacting patient care — for example, eliminating vacant administrative positions.

“We are confident that thoughtful and strategic decision-making coupled with efficient resource management will enable us to continue investing in critical medical research, education, and the communities we serve, while ensuring that we can care for every patient who needs us,” Klibanski said.

Abby Patkin

Staff Writer

Abby Patkin is a general assignment news reporter whose work touches on public transit, crime, health, and everything in between.

Want to leave a comment?

Create an Account Or sign in to your account

To comment, please create a screen name in your profile

To comment, please verify your email address

Conversation

This discussion has ended. Please join elsewhere on Boston.com